I have a conundrum we all have encountered. One reservation in the middle of a month and current guest wants the entire month and JUST told me.
I have a home in Silicon Valley and the bulk of my guests are in SV for work.
For the last few months, I have had some construction managers staying in my home while they build a huge multi multi million dollar building. The guys are super nice. They have fit into the neighborhood nicely. Chatting with neighbors, etc.
The builder is paying for the reservation. The admin. assistants have been booking the home. They have said they wanted the home until April 31 but then only committed until March 31 a month ago. They contacted me yesterday to ask to extend reservation until April 31.
Problem is I had a guest book my place for 8 days April 6 to 14th. He paid for the reservation and I had 24 hours to decline. Not only do we all know that canceling a reservation like this is not good for your status as a host but I didnt see it until 24 hours past. I attended a symposium at Stanford and got up at 4am and didnt get home until close to midnight. I checked my emails but was swamped in emails and did not see this one until the next day.
So, is there any way to ask the 6-14th guest to find another place without sounding totally tacky? Does anyone have a good idea on how to have a win win for the 6-14th guest so I can take the longer, more profitable reservation that is working out so well now?
I have emailed the admin to tell her that I can give her a deal. I raised my rates 6 weeks ago and when they booked for March they wanted the previous rate. The discount would be on top of a discount. It still is more profitable to have them stay until the end of April. I suggested the guys move into a hotel for little more than a week and then they could come back. I have a strong feeling the admin will just find another place for the month of April and I will be out 5 days because the likelihood to book those so last minute is not likely. Not sure if the last 2 weeks will go this last minute.
So, back to asking the 6-14th guest. Do it or do not do it? If I do ask, is offering money, like a couple hundred dollars for their trouble tacky or against guidelines?
Anybody out there that has successfully navigated this tricky situation? Should I try calling AirBnb and see if they could find another place for the guest that would be similar to my place? I am sure they would want the longer and more profitable reservation.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance for KIND responses.
Leave the 6-14 guest alone. Book the others around them, if they will, explaining that you have a prior commitment for the dates from 6-14. No need to go into detail, just a âprior commitmentâ before the other group wanted to extend.
There is NEVER a polite way to tell someone to get lost just so you can make more money from someone else. Grin and bear it. And start checking your Air account more than once a day!
Meanwhile you still havenât blocked off the rest of April so if someone else requests another week in April you are going to have to deal with a decline which Airbnb hates.
I havenât dealt with this but agree with Ken that you have an obligation to the person who booked. I treat others as I want to be treated. You can offer incentives of various kinds to either party but they might backfire. Iâm sure youâve heard about the pitfalls of wanting to have the cake while eating it.
@KenH is correct. Work around the confirmed reservation.
If you cancel the existing reservation for the one month extension you will have the real risk of the one month extension shortening or canceling the extension then you have NO reservation.
Disrespecting your host commitment to an existing booking for a potential better booking rarely if ever works out the way you think it will.
I did have the experience of having a dentist book my Airbnb for most of the fall. He started with two nights on Airbnb and as soon as he saw the room he booked the rest of the month, scheduling around my existing bookings. If you place is really that great the people who want it all month will understand. Iâd be annoyed that they were only able to give me about a weekâs notice that they wanted the month of April.
If you really want them to cancel so that you can make more money, you should PAY them to cancel, and it looks like you already know this. I donât have any idea how the logistics would work, or whether it violates any Airbnb policy, but itâs the right thing to do. Itâs a business discussion, and you have the guestâs phone number.
Edit: If youâre worried about not sounding greedy, you can also say that youâre doing it for the convenience of the current tenant.
Iâve had guests do that. They booked for almost a month (our max) despite there being a one-day booking right in the middle of their stay. They moved out for one night.
Itâs not acceptable to cancel someone for a âbetterâ option.
They only just contacted you to book April so they werenât exactly being considerate were they?
I donât know. If I had a reservation that was a couple of weeks out in the host contacted me and offered me money to cancel and move my reservation then I may be obliged to do it. Especially considering rates in the area.
Respect your guests (April 6 to 14) and honor their reservation. First-come-first-serve⊠It will also teach the other guest that making a timely reservation is important.
What message would you be sending if you cancel another guest to accommodate them? âDonât make a reservation, I will always have a spot for you⊠at a discounted rateâŠâ No way JosĂ©.
I recently had the daughter of my nephew staying. She and her boyfriend reserved for 4 nights, arrived, totally loved it and said that probably they would be staying a few days longer. Two hours later all our 3 rooms were booked for the following days. She had to leaveâŠ
Guests should make a reservation while they can, not when itâs no longer possible.
@KenH -Do you ever have anything nice to say? I have read your other responses and they are usually harsh and critical. Poor @Mexican was sorry he even asked.
To everyone elseâŠThanks for the responses. I contacted AirBnb and they are helping me. This will be a win win for everyone involved. Because I have so many 5 star reviews and have been a host for years, they are going to help me. I have never asked a âfavorâ like this before.
@jaquo The âguestâ could be viewed as âinconsiderateâ in other parts of the country/world but this is SILICON VALLEY. Ever watched the show? It is more a scripted documentary. The dog eat dog. The stab in the back ways. I have attached articles in the past about the dark side of living in the most competitive part of the world. The âGuestâ is an employee of a Venture capital company that does âGreenâ building. This is a company with 9 figures of wealth. They have a board that needs to be pleased and profits they have to report. The âguestâsâ behavior is indicative of the market as a whole in SV. Just because the company has a lot of money does not mean that they go around writing blank checks.
It is irritating that the admin âguestâ does not appreciate how hard it is to be a host. She has many tasks she has to complete and has a boss that expects her to find the cheapest place possible to house the workers that are building a building for the company. The execs look at these guys as walking pieces of meat that are a necessary evil in order to get a building built. Local contractors are so expensive that it is cheaper to bring guys in from out of state. Again, SV is a VERY expensive and cut throat. You do not know the depths it has until you live here. Just like NYC, Dubai or London, one can make a lot of money and that is why people flock to the area. People flocking equates to demand. Simple economics. High demand, low supply =insane prices. Everything is relative. I charge a lot because I have big bills to pay to keep this property. Not to mention everyone else is charging a lot because the market can bear it.
BTW I am not âbeing greedyâ because I want to maximize my earning potential. I did not share this before (because at the end of the day it is nobodyâs business and should not matter) but I am legally disabled and have a âspecial needsâ daughter that goes to an expensive private school. She is only 7 but early intervention is essential. I use the profits I make with AirBnb to pay for her school.
ALSO, I do want the contractors that are actually living in the house to be able to stay. The admin that books their room and board doesnt care about where they live and sleep but they do. So do I. They are nice men and have already met my neighbors. That is ANOTHER reason I want to extend the reservation. Out of respect for my nice neighbors, I like to keep the âparadeâ of different guests to a minimum.
Jeez this is a forum but I have had people tell me I take the business personally and need to understand that business is just business. Now, people are assuming I am going to harshly and heartlessly cancel and leave the guest in the lurch. Doesnât my posting asking if there is a win win solution demonstrate I care about the guest?
I am super glad I called customer service. They are really helpful and not the heartless corporation in Silicon Valley that some make them off to be. There are individuals that have the ability and power to help and they take great care and time to ensure all come off unscathed.
Thanks to @KKC - good idea to block out the rest of the month.
Iâm glad Airbnb is working with you. Let us know what they do. That may be helpful to others.
You asked the group and all said honor the original request. You chose not to honor the reservation citing the aggressive competitive real estate environment. That is concerning.
Youâve just told the group you are not taking personal responsibility for basically dishonoring the original reservation requestâitâs the rental environment. At least take ownership of your actionsâthe environment isnât making you behave in a manner not supported by the group, it is your choice.
Our personal ethics send a message to all around us. Do you mean to tell the group and your daughter that the dollar should rule how we treat others?
A recent article said that host cancellations were the largest deterrent for people to use Airbnb for important trips; so now your are contributing to this perception.
Also let us know if this last minute extension through April works out for you.
Wow that sounds like a super difficult area to live in. I think youâve got your heart and your priorities straight, especially for your area.
My rentals are much more simple and inexpensive but the booking conflicts you have problems with are no different. I have guests who want to stay for so many months but donât book in advance. I remind them that anyone can book at anytime, but sometimes they donât book and someone else jumps in. I try to have alternate rooms but random guess, you canât just pull an extra house out of your hat like a magic trick.
About the symposium, you gotta be on your phone like your life depends on it as an Airbnb host or else youâre going to lose out. If you canât then set a prep time so you need 24 hours advance notice.
For the 6-14th reservation, you canât cancel that without losing your status/being a dirt bag. The ultimate measure of a good host in my opinion is being reliable. So when a guest makes a reservation, they will have a place to stay rain or shine etc. You canât be flakey at all. You have control over your calendar, booking periods etc to make sure youâre in control of the reservations. Iâve never cancelled on a guest who wasnât violating TOS etc and I donât think any host should. Thatâs just me but maybe something about silicone valley is different that I donât know about.
Itâs interesting that you mention this as part of your argument to cancel the shorter booking. In reality, itâs probably the same argument your April 6th arrival would make. Heâs found himself a suitable accommodation in a high demand area and made a booking which has been confirmed. Now, two weeks before he arrives, youâre going to cancel his reservation and make him scramble to find another place to stay in a âhigh demand, low supplyâ area.
The reason youâre getting pushback from the other hosts on this forum is because this type of behaviour makes us all look bad. It doesnât take much before word gets around that AirBnB hosts are unreliable, cancel bookings, and leave guests in the lurch. If you are dependent on the income you make from AirBnB, then you canât risk damaging the brand with poor customer service.
Itâs interesting that this came up in the forum today. I was just reading an article about a guest who also had the experience of having a confirmed booking cancelled. If you scroll to the end of the article, youâll see that 20% of complaints about AirBnB are in regards to cancelled bookings. Here is the link if anyoneâs interested in reading it:
Given that the current guests want to extend their discount, AND gave you little warning, the only motivation you have in their case is money. But maybe 1-2 of the shorter termers will be less work and more $$, plus a break.
@KenH is a member that I truly appreciate for his straightforwardness. And judging by the hearts his post got, there are more members who appreciate his contribution.
@Cheftanya Iâm really curious if AirBnB will be able to solve your âproblemâ, and of they will do it with or without negative consequences for you. Itâs a really interesting case.
Personally Iâve had two similar cases as a host:
- One case I solved with upgrading the first guest to a better room for the same price. We are lucky to rent out 3 rooms, and in that case we were lucky that the nicest room was still free. That was a real WIN - WIN. Of course I first asked the guest if they could agree with a free upgrade.
- A second case was with a guest who was returning for 1 night at the end of his trip. He basically only needed a place to sleep. My SIL had been in the hospital for an emergency operation, and she needed a place where she could fully rest and recuperate. So I explained to the guest and asked if he could cancel. I promised a FULL refund for everything AirBnB took out of his pocket and promised him two free nights in the future to compensate for him having to find a new place. In this case itâs important to note that we already knew this guest, that we got along really well with him and that there are lots of places nearby where he could get a good nightâs sleep, all while probably paying less than in our place. He understood that it was a special situation and canceled on his behalf.
On the other side of the spectrum as a guest:
- I once booked a room in Bogota months ahead of time. It was not AirBnB, just a classic hostal like place. I had really selected it instead of taking any hostal I could get. Two hours before leaving to the airport for our intercontinental flight (Europe - SouthAmerica) I kind of by accident noticed that an email had just come in. They had canceled us, âbecause another guest wanted to stay a bit longerâ. Seriously? I was
mad of course. Why take reservations if youâre not honoring them? They were so nice to find us another hostal, but I really could not appreciate the effort at all. They also asked if we would still like to stay at the end of our trip. I returned them the favor 
and said yes.
Going to disagree here â
I had a similar situation once where a guest wanted to / almost had to extend due to his medical treatment at the nearby hospital.
The incoming guest blocking my calendar was a massive headache in every last piece of correspondence and hours of phone calls, and had 2 Air accounts and didnât know how to log into either one.
AirBNB put the incoming guest elsewhere at my request.
It wasnât the end of the world. They are literally 2,000 other places to stay in this past-over-saturated market.
You can do what is best for you, and your current guests, as long as the incoming guest can find something else with your help and that of Air.
EDIT: The truly âpoliteâ way to do this is look at the dates needed, find a colleague host in your vicinity who can help (do you have a hostsâ group for your area), and line up a comparable place for the guest + a meal gift card or something of the sort.
Simply ask your April 6-14 guest if they could possibly find a different place to stay, and that you will give them a full refund, plus a gift certificate to a local restaurant (or Amazon) for an amount that covers the price difference between your place and the next best place nearby plus a bit for their understanding.
You donât need to explain why you are asking, just say "something has come up, and we may not be able to host you for your stay. Could you cancel and stay somewhere else? I see that [fill in the blank with an available listing nearby] is available for your stay. "
basically there is no way to get out of it having everyone âloveâ you.
Do not involve airbnb in this.
You have to choose your battles and maybe be unpleasant to the person who is blocking your high season schedule. Recently had someone trying to take one week super high season, wednesday to wednesday! What! means one week rental instead of two. find a way to tell the person you canât meet his expectations and hope he will cancel.
other possibilities: block those dates on another platform and/or increase temporaritly your prices to outlandish levels.
Create a Rule Set that only allows check in/out on certain days, thatâll stop someone trying do a midweek booking.
As regards the OP, Iâm with @jaquo and @daniellealberta on this one. I donât care where you live, or what your backstory is; you took a booking, now you want to bump them because more money is on the table. Is it any wonder we see the headlines such as âLast minute cancellations leave guests scramblingâ when hosts choose greed over integrity.
JF
basically, if you have committed to a guest, even if you did a very bad deal, you have to honor your commitment